![]() ,This is another book that is being made into a movie. My friend gave it to me for my birthday so we could read it and preview it for a potential book read with my group of friends. If I am being fair, I do not have strong feelings either way on this book. It wasn't awful, but I didn't love it. It felt very much like a book I have read before, but I couldn't place what book. It is supposed to be thrilling and suspenseful, but I just wasn't really drawn into the story. I am not sure why exactly. It gets very favorable ratings, so apparently there are lots of people who love the book. It was well-written; but I just never really felt engaged with the characters. The storyline is solid. There are some suspense and psychological thriller pieces to the story, but I just wasn't wowed. There was not moment where I gasped while reading. I am not sure my thoughts on reading as a group and seeing the movie. It is quite dark in places, and I am not sure how that will translate to the screen. If you like suspense and thrillers, give it a read. Maybe it will draw you in, but it gets an eh for me overall.
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![]() This is a tough one for me. I really thought I was going to love this book based on the reviews and the summary I read, but I just could not get engaged with it. I enjoyed A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, but for some reason I could not connect with the characters in this story, or really, the storyline. When I think back to the actual plot of the book, I liked it. I liked the overall premise; It just seemed to drag on and I felt like I was pushing myself to finish the book instead of actually enjoying it or wanting to read it. I don't know specifically what it is about the book that I didn't love. Perhaps the writing style is a little academic. Maybe it was the switching back and forth between the characters, which I usually enjoy. Or maybe it was just the characters themselves. I'm just not sure. I did like parts of the story, but overall it just was not for me. Apparently a ton of people really enjoy this book, so if you are interested in historical fiction, specifically set in America, this might be a great read for you. It just was not amazing to me. ![]() I read this book initially shortly after it was published, and I picked it back up to re-read it before the movie is released in July. I loved it all over again. A group of my friends are all reading it, so we can go see the movie together and their responses have been favorable as well. This is not necessarily a genre that normally appeals to me, but I feel like the author does such an amazing job of developing Kya's character and the storyline that the book just can't help but pull you in. The book has a little of everything - coming of age, survival, romance, family, emotion, science, history, and some mystery... along with some court room drama. If you have yet to read the book and are looking for something to read this summer, I suggest picking it up. I think you will be glad you did. ![]() I put this book on hold in my library app, and it took months for it to become available, so I ended up finally getting access to it at the end of January once Christmas had passed. The goal was to read it over the Christmas holidays, but it apparently wasn't meant to be. I wasn't sure how I would like this book when I began reading up, but I ended up really enjoying it. The premise of the book is that Carmen, who is a bit of a black sheep of the family and self-proclaimed screw up, gets a position managing a bookshop in Edinburgh, Scotland. The bookshop is in need of sales in order to remain open, so Carmen has to perform a bit of a Christmas miracle to keep the doors open. Along with the above mentioned plotline, mix in some strife with her sister, some romance, and some children, and you get a lovely little holiday read. This books is perfect if you are wanting an uplifting and fun read while you sip some hot cocoa next to the fireplace or snuggle up in a warm bed. ![]() The Outlander series continues in this 9th book of the series. If you are a fan of the Outlander series, you will enjoy this book as well. The book continues the story of Jamie and Claire Fraser at Fraser's Ridge in the North Carolina back country as the Revolutionary War begins to simmer and take shape. Roger and Brianna and their family return to the ridge as well, and readers get to experience how the Frasers have grown and changed over the years. Ian and his new wife and family, Fergus and Marsali and their children, John Grey, and William are all included in this book. All that is missing is Murtagh, although he surfaces in memories. Gabaldon's strength is the development of her characters and how invested the readers become with them, and I think she continues that in this book as well as giving the reader a dose of history as well. It is interesting for the reader to see the age progression of Jamie and Claire and this book left me wondering what will happen with them in the following books. ![]() I have read The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead and really enjoyed them, so I was excited to see Harlem Shuffle was out an receiving such acclaim. I added it to my library queue and waited for it to become available, and when it did, I checked it out and dove in only to be disappointed. Y'all, I just could not get in to this story. The characters and the storyline just seemed somewhat fragmented to me, and it never seemed to peak my interest. I read every night before bed and instead of being excited to pick up my book to see what would happen next, it felt more like a chore. That being said, many people LOVE this book, so maybe you will too. It was just not the book for me. ![]() I am a huge Jack Ryan fan. I love the characters in the Amazon Prime Jack Ryan series and in the movies, so I thought I would give one of the books a try. I looked up the order of the books and Without Remorse came up as the first in the series chronologically, so I thought I would begin with it. That being said, Jack Ryan is just a side character in this series, and I am assuming he becomes more prominent in some of the other books. Sadly, I was underwhelmed by this book. I did not connect with the protagonist, John Kelly, and there were so many subplots I found the book hard to follow. I enjoyed the main plotline but found myself skipping over the portions of the book that dealt with the other plotlines. This book was just okay to me. I do plan to read the next book in the series eventually because I am hoping when Jack Ryan becomes the main protagonist, I might like the books a bit better; however, if the movie adaptations of the other books follow along the same lines as this one, the books are nowhere near the same as the movies. ![]() Did I love this book? No. Did I hate this book? No. Would I recommend this book to someone else? Meh. And to be fair, I have read The Silent Patient by Michaelides as well and was a bit meh about it too, so perhaps I should have stopped with it. But, I WANTED to love this book because I enjoy Greek mythology, and I love a good twist ending, but this storyline just didn't do it for me. The protagonist, Mariana, was a bit lackluster to me. I never felt very connected to her, and I did not find her believable as a psychoanalyst. Despite being the protagonist of the book, she was not well developed. We are told often how beautiful she is and we have men throwing themselves at her, but she is never described. Basically we know she is from Greece, as endured a lot of loss, and is a group therapist. It just wasn't much to go on. And the storyline had some sub plots that are never wrapped up which irks me. Henry who is a group therapy patient of Mariana's is kind of the focus of the story at the beginning and he is interwoven in the story a bit but then he just gets clipped up with no real closure, and then there is Fred who is a strange gentleman Mariana meets on the train and who professes his love for her. He saves her from being killed and then what? Did he get out of critical condition? Does he live? We will never know. The twist ending is also a bit predictable and the ending is just a stop. No ending. No closure. No wrap-up. No real idea of what actually happened. So, there it is. I finished the book. I liked pieces of it, but overall it was just meh. It was not my cup of tea, but perhaps you would enjoy it. ![]() I have read several books by Fredrick Backman - A Man Called Ove, my grandmother asked me to tell you a story, Anxious People, and Beartown, but Us Against You is my favorite of his so far (I enjoyed them all).I enjoy the character's Backman develops in his novels. I feel connected to them, and I like his overall writing style. Us Against You is the second in the Beartown series which is centered around the small forest community in Beartown, Sweden, and their love of hockey. I know. I know. That makes it sounds like a sports book, which it is to a degree, but it is about much more than sports. The novel is about friendship, loyalty, and the struggles the band of hockey players and their town go through as they work to find their place among each other. It is suspenseful, compassionate, and philosophical in places, and all in all, it is a wonderful story woven together with some beautiful writing and characters you will want to hug. I would highly recommend starting with Beartown so you can get a good introduction to the characters and storyline and work your way to Us Against You. I think you will end up loving them both! Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
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